Clip Hanes vs The Wildcat
by QuileuteWolfPrincess
Summary: When the Legendary Wildcat goes to far in Eagle Station and kidnaps little Joe, will her arch enemy who she thought she'd killed come to little Joe's rescue? Please read and review! Updated!
1. Mystery Woman

Dang it little Joe. Can't you decide what you want? Your birthday is next week."

Hoss Cartwright asked his little brother they bounced along in the back of their father's buckboard.

"I don't know. Paint got a hold of her saddle blanket yesterday and tore it to pieces. I could use one of them, or a bag of candy from the Orowitz's store."

"I don't think you need candy little Joe. Think of something you actually need."

Came Ben Cartwright's answer from the wagon seat in front of them.

"But pa."

He pleaded

"No buts Joseph."

Came his father's stern reply.

Little Joe looked at his dirty brown boots and shook a fly from his boot toe. Then he looked up.

Hoss stretched his arms out behind him and grunted.

"Well you'd better decide on somethin' soon. Were almost there."

Little Joe turned around to face the front of the wagon and crawled towards the seat were his father sat. He then stood up behind his father and watched the town buzz with the every day excitement of Eagle station.

Ponderosa 

The legendary black and white pony threw her legs forward closing the gap between her and the blue roan stallion ahead of her.

Her rider was non other than the legendary Wildcat who was said to shoot women and children who got in her way.

Her dark brown eyes were fixed on the stallion's rider. The woman called Hanes had gone and done the impossible. She'd snuck up behind the Wildcat and stolen her poke. Something the Wildcat would hunt and kill for.

Now they tore after her in pursuit. They would catch her they would get her money back and they would kill her if they had to.

They crested a rise to look over a small town. The roan still ran for the crowded and muddy street.

The roan breathed hard as he gave his mistress everything he had. She glanced back the pony was catching them.

A the small town drew closer she glanced back again. She was almost on top of them.

She kicked her silver rowels into her stallions flanks and ducked under a low branch of the one tree that had crossed their path.

The town now suddenly seemed to stop and scatter. The mud flew as they entered the streets and bypassed several shrieking women.

She and her stallion were slowed down by the sloshing mud.

She looked back the paint mare was still coming. Her rider had a look of determination on her face.

They bounded through the mud with ease as her stallion slipped and sloshed through it.

She kicked his flanks again as she heard the shot. Pain pulsed through her body starting at her left shoulder and progressing everywhere.

She drew her gun and twisted around to fire her .45 on the rider behind her. Only she wasn't there.

Hanes glanced to the right and caught a glimpse of The Wildcat ducking into a door. She grabbed her saddle horn and threw her right leg over the back of her horse and hung there to keep out of The Wildcat's fire range.

**Ponderosa**

Ben Cartwright heard the commotion outside and glanced out the large front window of the Orowitz's store. A horse and a pony flew past the window, one of the riders had a bloody shoulder. When he looked again he saw there was only one rider.

He ran out the door in time to see the rider pull a foot from a stirrup and hang sideways on his saddle.

The black and white paint pony stopped and sloshed through the mud to the hitching rail where she stood and waited for her rider.

Little Joe now followed him out and watched the rider hoist himself back into the saddle with gun in hand. When another shot was fired the rider collapsed onto the muddy ground.

Ben and Little Joe both ran for the figure in the street.

"Joseph get his horse."

The rider groaned as Ben flipped him over. He removed the rider's hat to watch the long blonde hair tumble from his head.

"You mean her horse pa?"

Ben picked her up as he yelled.

"Hoss!"

He slipped and sloshed through the mud as Hoss came through the door.

"What happened pa?"

"Don't ask questions Eric just get the buckboard. Joseph, I want you to stay with Eli and Ruth Orowitz. Do you under stand me?"

" Yes Pa, What do I do with her horse?"

Ben turned around.

"Tie him next to the paint."

As little Joe looped the stallion's reins around the hitching rail someone grabbed the paint's reins.

A figure clad in complete black had appeared from out of no were.

"That your pony Mister?"

The man nodded but didn't say a word.

"Did you shoot the woman who rode in before you?"

The man looked up from tightening his cinch.

"What business is it of yours?"

The man now turned and started to go through the saddle bags behind the roan's saddle.

"I guess it's not my business I'm just curious."

He grabbed what looked like a wallet out of the saddle bags and stuck it in his shirt.

"You might have killed her."

He started to mount up but stopped.

"Ya know. Yer kinda annoyin'. What if I ment to kill her?"

"Then that would make you a murderer."

The man looked around.

"Yer to nosey for yer own good."

With that he grabbed little Joe and hauled him onto his saddle and mounted up and kicked his pony's flanks.

People scattered in all directions to let the pony and her rider through.

Ponderosa 

With Ben at the reins of the buckboard that left Hoss to keep the mysterious woman from getting the life jolted from her.

As they rolled into the yard of the Ponderosa ,Adam and Carlos came out of the barn.

"Pa, your home sooner than expected. Were's little Joe?"

"We had trouble in town Adam."

Hoss stood up and picked up the woman.

"Carlos could you take her?"

With a look of surprise on his face Carols held the unconscious woman.

"Get her into the house. Adam go tell HopSing were coming."

Ben herded Carlos towards the house as Hoss jumped down from the buckboard.

When they reached the door HopSing and Adam met them.

"Take her to my room."

He instructed Carlos.

"HopSing you know what to do."

HopSing nodded and followed Carlos through the door.


	2. Failed Escape

Hanes and Wildcat

Chapter Two

She could feel the pain pulse through her body as something touched her shoulder. She showed no sign of being awake as she heard footsteps move across the room. When the person came back she sprung.

She grabbed the man's neck as she drew and cocked her gun.

"Who are you?"

She growled

"I'm working on shoulder."

Great the man was oriental. Next thing he'd be doing would be acupuncture.

" Are you stupid or hard of hearing? Any idiot could figure out you were workin' on my arm."

She seemed to take the man by surprise. Cause he didn't say anything.

She rolled off the bed with her gun still trained on him. She reached for the window and slid it open.

Without a word she slid out the window and landed on her feet. Corse she wasn't on her feet for to long. She could feel the second bullet that had hit her in the side.

She collapsed onto the muddy ground and struggled to her feet. The pain was increasing by the second.

"That damn Wildcat."

She muttered under her breath.

Then she heard the oriental man call for a Mr. Cartwright.

"Great."

She pulled her legs up and struggled to her feet.

She took a deep breath and wobbled forward. She spotted what had to be the barn, and headed for it.

She made it half way to hear running foot steps coming from behind her. She threw her legs froward the best she could to get away from who was chasing her.

She decided that she couldn't out run them she turned and aimed her gun at them.

She cocked her gun and fired. Right between the Mexican's feet.

"Don't come any closer."

Both the Mexican and the dark haired guy stopped and raised their hands.

"Look we'll let ya leave. Hop Sing's just gotta look at yer shoulder."

The dark haired man said.

"Hop-a-who? Oh you mean the guy that was gonna kill me with that voodoo he was puttin' in my arm?"

She continued to hold her gun on them as she held her side with the other.

"I won't stay without a fight."

She could feel the blood start to ooze through her fingers.

"Well there won't be any fight , but yer gonna have to come into the house anyway."

She felt a rain drop land on her fore head.

"We'll just see 'bout that. Just try n' touch me."

She hadn't hear the foot steps behind her till it clicked.

"I'm not watchin' my back."

She thought, as everything went dark.

Little Joe watched his captor pace back and forth past the fire and back again.

"Well what are you lookin' at?"

He spat

Little Joe didn't answer.

He rubbed his wrists together against the scratchy rope that bound them together. The grimy black bandana tasted like a bad campfire in his mouth.

The man pulled out his gun and spun the cylinder, he made sure it was loaded and returned it to it's holster.

He sat cross legged on his bed roll and stirred the fire with a stick.

"So you gonna tell me 'bout yer family?"

When little Joe didn't respond he continued.

"Will they pay to get you back?"

Joe could hear the droplets of rain start to hit the brim of his hat.

The man looked up and continued.

"How 'bout people in town? Anyone there?"

Joe stared into the woods around them purposely avoiding eye contact.

The man was fed up. He stood with such force he made his horse shy. He grabbed little Joe by the collar and pulled him off the ground.

"Yer gonna tell me what I want to know or I'll be fillin' yer body with lead and leavin' it in several different states!"

He dropped Joe back to the ground and towered over him blocking the light from the fire. Little Joe stared back at him with fear in his eyes.

The man leaned over.

"You gonna tell me what I need to hear?"

Little Joe nodded.

The man pulled the dirty bandana from his mouth and sat down.

"Well?"

"My pa will hunt you down to get me back. He won't pay."

The man chuckled.

"You probably think yer pretty brave talkin' like that."

Joe's facial expression stayed cross.

"What makes you think he'll know were to look?"

Joe hadn't thought of that.

The man brought out a piece of paper and started to write.

"How much do you think yer worth to yer pa?"

He briefly looked up to glare at Joe.

"More than a murderer and or kidnapper like you'd ever posses."

He would have crossed his arms could he have.

The man stopped writing long enough to pull his slicker over his shoulders to get out of the rain that now fell more steadily across the camp.

HopSing was bent over the passed out woman applying this and that to the bullet wound. Ben's gaze caught sight of the tray that the buckshot that had been removed from the woman. There had been only two wounds yet HopSing had removed three pieces of full buckshot.

This woman had been through more gun play than just today. He had several questions to ask her when she came to and they could restrain her.

Her name? Why she was being shot at? Who had been shooting at her? Why was she in mens clothes? Why had she tried to kill HopSing and the boys?

He shook his head as he watched HopSing work.

He heard the door open and close.

"That would be Adam and Joe."

He thought as he stood and left the room. But only Adam stood in front of him.

"Well were's Joseph?"

Adam had his hat in his hand.

"Pa, Little Joe never showed up at the store. Ely said the last time they saw Little Joe was when he ran out after you."

Ben ran his fingers through his hair.

"Did you talk to anyone else in town that might have seen him?"

Adam nodded

"I talked to Shelby, she said that a man in black was talkin' to him after you hauled her away. Then she had to serve some drunk guy at the bar. Other wise nobody else saw him."


	3. Questions

Hanes and Wildcat

Chapter 3

Her world spun uncontrollably fast around her. She could feel the bump on the back of her head. She felt nauseous. She held her stomach with her good arm and rolled to the left side of the bed and vomited. When she was through she tried to inhale but screamed instead. The pain from her left shoulder wound shot through her body with such force she wished she'd conk out again.

She heard the foot steps stop at the door as it squeaked open. The oriental man stood there with a tall, sandy brown haired man. Corse there were two of each of them.

She removed her hand from her stomach and covered her eyes.

"Can you speak?"

The brown haired man stepped closer to her as she uncovered her eyes and squinted at him.

"What do you want from me? Those men wouldn't let me leave."

Her breathing was somewhat shallow as she spoke.

"They were just trying to keep you from doing something you might regret later."

He sat down on the side of the bed but stood back up when she glared at him.

"Like what? What could I do that I might regret later? You obviously see what my life is. I don't regret anything."

She felt down her hip for her holster, but it had been removed.

" Look we're only trying to help you. Not hurt you."

The man she assumed to be Mr. Cartwright pulled up a chair and sat on it and leaned toward her.

"I never said that I thought you'd hurt me. Just let me go and you never have to worry 'bout me doin' somthin' I might regret later."

Now she felt down her back and into her back of her pants for her Bowie knife. It too had been removed.

"Seeing as how you've disarmed me. What do you plan on doin' with me?"

She stared intently at the man sitting next to her.

"We're going to get you better then let you go, but in the mean time I have some questions for you."

He folded his hands in front of him.

"Questions like what? Why do I wear a gun and ride astride? Because I can and I want to."

She raised her eye brows at the man.

"Well, to start out with. What's your name and why were you getting shot at?"

"Because my, fellow... worker got mad at me for somethin' I did."

She chose her words carefully.

The man nodded his head.

"Alright, how about a name."

She inhaled through her nose and thought for a moment.

"How 'bout you give me your name first."

"That sound fair enough. Ben Cartwright. Now what's your name?"

She inhaled again.

"Hanes, Clip Hanes."

Ben nodded his head again.

"Alright, we're off to a good start. Now who was shooting at you?"

"Like I said, a fellow worker."

"Like a coworker? A friend of yours?"

Ben turned to watch the oriental man leave the room.

"No."

"What did you do to make this person want to kill you?"

The oriental man came back this time with a tray with a bowl and towel on it.

"I took somethin' from her."

She looked up at the ceiling then closed her eyes as it started to spin around on her.

"What did you take from her?"

The chair Ben was sitting on creaked as he moved.

"Nothin' important."

She felt the corner of her shirt being lifted up. She quickly sat up grabbed the oriental man by the neck once again , he dropped both the corner of her shirt and the wet cloth he held in his hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to clean wound and redress it."

He held both hands in the air in surrender.

"Don't touch me again. Unless you have a death wish and an appointment with the devil."

She shoved the oriental man back against the wall ,then she laid back and looked back at Ben Cartwright.

"Just let me go. I can take perfect care of myself without your help."

"What if your "fellow worker" tries to kill you again?"

He crossed his arms across his chest as he sniffed the air.

"What's that smell?"

He looked at her with his face full of confusion.

"Look at your feet."

Clip closed her eyes and turned away from both men as Ben quickly stood.

"HopSing clean that up."

Ben pulled his boots off his feet and left the room.

"You strange woman. I help wound heal. You die without help."

He quickly mopped at the floor.

"I'll be completely fine without your help."

She spat at the oriental as he scurried out of the room.


End file.
